as long as we stand heart to spark and hand in hand
by dropout-ninja
Summary: It's the first Christmas since the bots have left Earth and returned to their home. And that means it's the perfect excuse to bring everyone together again. Just a bit of light hearted holiday fluff with a touch of angst here and there. Companion piece to 'Bits & Pieces'.


Transformers and its characters do not belong to me. All rights go to their respective owners.

_AN- This was originally going to be another chapter of my work Bits & Pieces but it stood up well enough on its own to make it a holiday special._  
_Un-Beta'd, so if you noticed any grammar/spelling errors, please point them out so I can correct them :)_  
_Title refers to a line from 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'_

* * *

It had been a wonderful holiday. First Raf had slept in until 7:30. What a wonderful feeling it was to catch that extra hour! Then, before his siblings could see him, he snagged some coffee from the pot and went outside onto the porch to drink it undetected. Caffeine was normally avoided by the boy, but today he needed the extra boost. He planned to be awake all night if that's how long the festivities kept going.

The day passed as quickly as Christmas tended to. Presents were torn apart and admired. Each sibling had played a raffle two months before to determine which other sibling they'd be buying presents for. With as many kids as the Esquivel's had, getting presents for everybody became a financial hassle. This year, Raf had drawn his brother Tony's name and his cousin Rachel. He'd gotten both thoughtful presents although...he couldn't help but binge some silly string at a 99 cents store that neither sibling nor cousin looked all that thrilled to receive. No matter how thoughtful he was, Raf was still just thirteen (an age he'd been thrilled to hit and even more excited to see that Miko had pulled together a party that brought Bee back to Earth for a while- yes indeed, fond memories there) and what he thought were fun presents weren't always received with much fanfare.

After presents came clean up and it was also Raf's turn to help with that. He and his sister dragged all the papers into their trashbags while the others laughed from the other room. Raf tried to remember it was just because it was his year to clean up. It wasn't because he was forgettable.

That evening at six, after dinner was finished and the extended family had started to drift off, Raf grabbed more caffeine. He would pay for it later, but this? This was what he was waiting for.

Raf loved his family. He would do anything to protect them.

But he also loved his other family. The one he played a role in. The one that seemed like it had been made just for him. A language he could understand, tech like nothing on Earth, and the patient kindness of Bee.

It was a half hour later when he snuck out. Raf had his backpack on and walked in the dark until he hit the fence line outside his property. The short teen crawled over it and dropped onto the other side.

"Bee?" Raf asked to the dark. He half expected to hear Bee's voice respond- no, not the one speaking English. His first voice. The one he'd spoke when Raf had met him. _Primal Vernacular_, Ratchet called it. Raf didn't hear it as the series of beeps the others told him it sounded like. To him, Raf just...heard it. Like reading subtitles with white noise behind it or something. Like his voice now when he spoke English but just slightly more pitched.

It wasn't that voice which answered. First, a pair of bright headlights turned on. Raf raised an arm to his blinded eyes and stumbled back a bit. Then, his call was replied to.

And no, it wasn't with that voice he'd grown used to. But it was still Bee's.

It was still Bee.

Raf ran to the open door and shot into the driver's seat with uncontained glee. His short arms wrapped around the seat in a makeshift hug. Bee was laughing and talking and Raf was speaking back and-

And all the while, Raf knew, no matter what language he spoke, it was Bee. And that was the best present he could've asked for this year.

* * *

As soon as they drove up, Miko was there to assault them.

The doors opened and his mom stepped out. Her short heels clacked onto the concrete floor as she turned around to grab her bags in the back seat. Around the ambulance, agent Fowler had some of the bags already in hand and was ready to help her out. Jack turned away with a groan. It was then that he saw Miko was next to them. She had a wild grin on her face and gestured him to follow.

"Come on, come on," she pointed behind her, "We've got it all set up and all the bots are here! They're here!"

As exciting as that was, he couldn't just leave while his mom needed help with the bags. The other teen didn't seem to appreciate his pause.

"Come on, Jack Rabbit!" Miko hopped impatiently. Jack tried to hold out his hands to stall her, but the other teen took no notice. Soon as his arms were close enough, Miko had grabbed them and was tugging him away.

"Who-Miko!"

As per the usual, his cries were ignored. Her little ponytail, pink highlights bright and joined by blue, bobbed behind her head as she tugged him along. Just like he'd been forced by his mom to dress up a bit more than usual, Miko didn't have on her typical clothes. Sure the combat boots remained. The hair was as wild as ever. The tights were still there. But her shirt was festive enough. Looked better than the stuffy Christmas sweater his mom forced him into. Ugly sweaters weren't actually something to be willingly worn, at least not by the guy who preferred a gray tee shirt over another gray shirt.

They spun around the corner of the Unit:E warehouse and Jack caught sight of Raf. The little guy was in a dress shirt with a little tie and it was both adorable and also very...fitting for him. He looked smart. He was.

"H-hey Raf," Jack waved with the hand not currently being tugged by Miko. But his attention fled from the little thirteen year old to the friends above his head.

Arcee. All of them. All but-

He shook the thought off.

They'd come in from Cybertron.

Jack couldn't stop the grin. He and Miko both looked up at the team with their wildest cheshire cat impressions and the team smiled right back.

* * *

The host parents had been a bit of a hassle. But their goody good children showed up with the grandkids and honestly? They couldn't have expected Miko to stay around.

She'd already heard the rumor that they may not be up for having her another year round. And her parents back in Tokyo no doubt would want her back eventually. Last Christmas she'd gone over there but this year they had both taken work the whole holiday week. So with her bio family busy and host parents pushovers, Miko was free to spend Christmas with the people she chose.

And she chose the bots and their humans.

Being a 'consultant' for Unit:E meant she could show up when she wanted to so long as there was no school. But Ratchet could only be an interesting companion for so long. The calls to Cybertron could only take the place of face to face interaction so much. Jack, Raf, Fowler and even Jack's helicopter mom were the only humans here Miko knew. Or that she originally knew. No one could say Miko couldn't make friends of her own.

But many of the agents here thought she was too young. They either acted with derision because of that or they used kiddie gloves. Oh honey this, oh sweetie that- where are your host parents? where are your friends? don't you miss your parents?

She missed Bulk and Jackie and Arcee and the rest. She missed Optimus. Why did she have to have any more?

When she pulled open her bedroom window and slid out that afternoon, Miko cast a glace back. The host parents had their two adult kids there and were talking happily with them. They looked happy. She didn't see that side of them all that often these days. Maybe. Maybe she should try a bit harder to not make them feel like everything they did for her was pointless. Maybe.

Miko ran down the driveway and away into the streets of a town that was no Jasper.

The base was drab and boring when she arrived. Ratchet was already there, whining about something or other, and a few agents were there for their shifts. What sort of party was this?

The medic soon found himself occupied in following her directions as she proceeded to make the place look more exciting. Since she was here hours earlier than anyone else, Miko convinced Ratchet to let her bridge over to a department store. There she used her card to buy a festive rug or two; a card that had her tiny salary from Unit:E. Ratchet only put up with her for so long before he told her it was his turn to leave. Apparently the old bot was going to be the Darby's ride. Miko gave no small amount of teasing about this until he huffed and left.

Then it was her turn to wait. And wait. Fiddle on the guitar. Blast a metal excuse for Christmas music. Steal some snacks. How thoughtful of Ratchet to have ordered some human food, or at least ordered a Unit:E member to get some. And still he pretended to not care.

And then? Then the call came in. The Space Bridge was ready. They were ready. And Miko? You bet she was ready.

* * *

It was just another stupid human holiday but Ratchet didn't really care. He vaguely remembered that the last solar cycle some of the human children mentioned the holiday but nothing came of it. They had all celebrated with their human families.

It may have been some useless human holiday but Ratchet was ready. It was an excuse to burn too much energon on a Space Bridge and get the rest here. After months of mostly human company, the medic was ecstatic to see others; even if it wasn't easy to tell from his outward demeanor.

A few Earth hours had passed since they'd gotten here. The planet was just like Bee remembered it. No, it wasn't quite the home away from home he remembered fondly; that home had been in a missile silo destroyed cycles before. But even in one of Unit:E's warehouses, it still felt nostalgic.

He'd gone for a drive soon after coming in. Dirt spewed up under tires in a way metal roads never could. Bee enjoyed his drive and it passed quickly. Soon, he found himself waiting outside a human fence. The sky was almost dark and it continued to darken as he waited. A part of him worried at the waiting. He couldn't be wasting time, there were things to do, important things...

Not now. Right now Bee was away from leadership. This was a moment to relax. A moment to spend with a friend no other could ever amount to.

The minute Raf came in, the two began to chat. And so they talked all the way back to Unit:E.

The two Wreckers, excluding Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus, were thrilled to be back. Wheeljack had no delusions about a desire to stay here. Bulk did. Bulkhead would have stayed on Earth all the way through his human charge's lifespan. But just because the other Wrecker had no desire to stay didn't mean he had no desire to come back often. No, the shorter mech was excited to be back. If nothing else, Earth had Ratchet here and the medic was always so fun to rile up. The big green Wrecker was nothing short of thrilled to be back however. He let Miko drag him all around and listened to everything she had to tell him. When she gave him his 'present' early, it made his spark pulse with joy; even if the scrapbook containing fuzzy pictures of him and the girl and the rest of the team was still too small to do much with.

Their third stole Jack and the kids a few times as the night ran on. Smokescreen had a fascinated love of Earth videogames and Jack had a competitive edge that led the both of them to playing loudly while the others tried to talk.

The last Wrecker was not thrilled to be back. Ultra Magnus wasn't really thrilled about anything. Or at least, he didn't seem to be. Having only recently gotten off his medbay berth, the commander was forced to sit or limp and neither option was desirable. And having only heard a vague explanation from the others, Ultra Magnus wasn't sure what he or the others were even here for. But it seemed customary to bring a gift so he had made small 'thumb drive', as Bee called them, copies of the _abridged & easy version_ of _Ancient Cybertronian Laws_ for each of the humans hosting this...party.

It was slightly disappointing to see their less than stellar reactions but at the least he had avoided offending them by not participating at all in this alien custom.

To the slight discomfort of everyone, Knock Out was there too. The ex-con couldn't be left on Cybertron alone when the rest were here after all. The shiny red mech stayed back from the activities, although, being Knock Out, there were moments he couldn't help but add his own two cents to a conversation.

No matter how the others felt around him, it seemed to the humans that he really was here to stay. And no matter how nasty humans were, the younger medic couldn't even deny by the end of the cycle that their celebrations had a certain charm.

Having visited Earth a good couple of times since they had departed for Cybertron, Arcee was the least surprised by how the current base of operations looked. It wasn't the same as Autobot Outpost Omega One but it didn't matter if the aesthetics were off. Everyone was here. Nevada and its dirt were the same. Jack was excited to be there. Arcee had even looked forward to seeing June, even though the woman could sometimes rub on her nerves.

She took Jack and his mother on a short spin around, helped Ultra Magnus find a place to sit, and got tangled up in the extra large string of lights Wheeljack had tried to make for the night.

All of them could feel the absence. He may not have been a partier, but Optimus was the head of this family. Spending quality time together without him felt wrong. Especially so for the mechs that had known him for vorns.

* * *

The tree was huge and ungainly. Bulkhead had knocked it over at the base with a wrecking ball and then set it up against the corner of two walls. Arcee had tried to give it makeshift decorations and then grown too frustrated and handed the job off to Smokescreen. The rookie whined but trudged over to do so.

Arcee and Jack had found a quiet corner outside and exchanged gifts. The human pocketed the new communication device with a smile and had given an amused groan at the sight of a replacement 'survival kit'. The femme had taken the motorcycle care equipment and small ornament with a smile of her own; there was no doubt it would be decorating her room on the Nemesis soon enough.

In the main room, aka the warehouse, the others made a big show of things by the tree. Wheeljack had given everyone explosive gifts and both June and Fowler had banned them all immediately. Bee and Ratchet had given Raf all sorts of doodads for his laptop that the rest couldn't recognize but the boy went ecstatic over. Gifts were exchanged, laughs were contagious, and the night wore on. The kids stayed mainly with their partners. The two medics and June engaged in a long conversation that seemed to put all three at ease despite how being in casual proximity with Knock Out made everyone feel. Wheeljack had snuck over not long after to harass Ratchet and the older medic had gotten thoroughly distracted with that teasing spat. Imitation mistletoe was thenceforth banned from Ratchet's workspace and Miko broke out cackling. Fowler had drifted over to where Ultra Magnus was trapped sitting and tried to talk with him for a while; it took persistence because the commander couldn't see past Fowler as a 'native' but the two retired soldiers still managed a few words back and forth. Raf ran out of energy shortly after midnight. The boy could be found near the still running TV, curled up against Bumblebee. The mech didn't move from the spot until the young human had woken the next morning. Miko had kept going into the wee hours of morning when the Darby's had already left for their home. She would have gone all night but Bulkhead refused; the green mech put his pede down and told her sleep mattered for humans. Despite the grumbles, the teen did follow his directions. Jack went around to spend time with everyone, or almost everyone. Some competitive games with Smokey, some strategy games with Arcee, some small talk with Ratchet- it was a busy night. His mom eventually came to him yawning and he knew it was time to go. Thankfully, to him, Fowler didn't take them home. Not this time at least. But there was only so long he could avoid the gross moon eyes his mom and the agent kept shooting towards each other.

The Cybertronians would be here for longer than just one night. Each of the humans ran out of energy and knew they had to crash eventually but there was that consolation. The team would be here one Earth week. It was no _Twelve Days of Christmas_, but five golden rings and the rest of that wild song sounded like poor consolation prizes compared to the company of their family.

* * *

_AN- Thank you for your time!_  
_And a Merry Christmas to you all :3_


End file.
